urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-203cd156-7537-4b84-9c9d-77278729c8c1A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers - Tags - software A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers03042013-12-06T05:09:12-05:00IBM Connections - Blogsurn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-3f1338be-65ac-4198-b821-2c4d2fd8649cJunk and TreasureDKA0600026VJ2activefalseComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikestrue2009-06-16T14:55:23-04:002009-06-16T16:20:01-04:00If you work in a development shop similar to mine, you and many of your coworkers have more than one workstation under your desk.We use those extra machines for a variety of reasons but by and large they they tend to serve most often as foot warmers. That is not to say that they are unnecessary but rather they simply aren't used most of the time. If you try to eliminate one, you will surely need it within the next week but if your manager asks if it is really necessary you would be hard pressed to pinpoint precisely when the last time it was used for something really important. To developers, these extra machines are potential sandboxes for isolated experiments or testing scenarios. For managers, they are relatively unused capital investments that require inventory control and have depreciating value.<br>If you are a network administrator there are certainly computers in your inventory that are older and lack the capacity to be counted on for everyday use. They sit in a corner or in a blade rack and are probably idle or even powered off. These assets take up physical space and contribute very little to your data center. However, they have little sale value but may represent a significant investment. Or maybe you just can't part <br>with them for sentimental reasons. <br><br>Whatever the reasons for having computing resources lying around that are seldom used, here is an idea: Virtualization. With virtualized images you can use those machines for whatever purposes are required and for as long as they are required without having to spend hours loading them with a compliant OS image, installing software and configuring them for use. Virtual image libraries could hold preinstalled systems for almost any need. It could be for anything:<br><ul><li>Workstations provisioned for temporary workers</li><li>More server capacity</li><li>More machines or load testing</li><li>Extra processors for parallel processing systems</li><li>Back up systems to carry loads during maintenance hours<br></li></ul>If you use WebSphere in any capacity, CloudBurst can be used to lay in place a completely functioning WebSphere install in as little as 20 minutes, OS and all. <br><br>When the need for the machine is passed, it can be un-deployed and returned to the pool. This could significantly increase the available computing power of an entire development business. The ability to turn any machine into a needed and useful system on demand is real agile computing and gives a whole new dimension to&nbsp; governance. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp; --- Scott Quint</span><br>If you work in a development shop similar to mine, you and many of your coworkers have more than one workstation under your desk.We use those extra machines for a variety of reasons but by and large they they tend to serve most often as foot warmers. That is not to say that they are unnecessary but rather they simply aren't used most of the time. If you try to eliminate one, you will surely need it within the next week but if your manager asks if it is really necessary you would be hard pressed to pinpoint precisely when the last time it was used for something really important. To developers, these extra machines are potential sandboxes for isolated experiments or testing scenarios. For managers, they are relatively unused capital investments that require inventory control and have depreciating value.<br>If you are a network administrator there are certainly computers in your inventory that are older and lack the capacity to be counted on for everyday use. They sit in a corner or in a blade rack and are probably idle or even powered off. These assets take up physical space and contribute very little to your data center. However, they have little sale value but may represent a significant investment. Or maybe you just can't part <br>with them for sentimental reasons. <br><br>Whatever the reasons for having computing resources lying around that are seldom used, here is an idea: Virtualization. With virtualized images you can use those machines for whatever purposes are required and for as long as they are required without having to spend hours loading them with a compliant OS image, installing software and configuring them for use. Virtual image libraries could hold preinstalled systems for almost any need. It could be for anything:<br><ul><li>Workstations provisioned for temporary workers</li><li>More server capacity</li><li>More machines or load testing</li><li>Extra processors for parallel processing systems</li><li>Back up systems to carry loads during maintenance hours<br></li></ul>If you use WebSphere in any capacity, CloudBurst can be used to lay in place a completely functioning WebSphere install in as little as 20 minutes, OS and all. <br><br>When the need for the machine is passed, it can be un-deployed and returned to the pool. This could significantly increase the available computing power of an entire development business. The ability to turn any machine into a needed and useful system on demand is real agile computing and gives a whole new dimension to&nbsp; governance. <br><br><span style="font-style: italic;">&nbsp; --- Scott Quint</span><br>If you work in a development shop similar to mine, you and many of your coworkers have more than one workstation under your desk.We use those extra machines for a variety of reasons but by and large they they tend to serve most often as foot warmers. That is...004258urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-203cd156-7537-4b84-9c9d-77278729c8c1A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers2013-12-06T05:09:12-05:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-7b23f92e-178c-4b29-817d-7adcb718439cInterop ConferenceDKA0600026VJ2activefalseComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikestrue2009-05-29T15:47:39-04:002009-06-16T14:22:40-04:00<br/><br/><p>Dustin and i manned the IBM booth at InterOp in Las Vegas last week. The conference was very different from the industry conferences I remember, but then again I haven't been to one in a long time. I don't recall seeing boxing matches, light shows or bikini models but I think they are a welcome addition. </p><p>Ostensibly this conference was focused on cloud computing and was even called the "Cloud Summit". However, in the vendor area, there were few real cloud computing specific peds. Most of the vendor displays were about hardware, system monitoring and security. </p><p>Ric Telford of IBM gave a keynote address and sspoke of IBM's cloud offerings. After the keynote, there was a flurry of visitors asking about IBM, Cloud Computing and IBM's cloud offerings. Most of the visitors were looking for education and we were happy to have the opportunity to talk about the company and cloud computing from IBM's perspective. </p><p>We had the CloudBurst Appliance with us and it drew some interest. The purple case definitely stood out and drew inquiries. Some excitement is being generated but I think now the industry and the market has to catch up to us. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>-- Scott Quint </i></p><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><p>Dustin and i manned the IBM booth at InterOp in Las Vegas last week. The conference was very different from the industry conferences I remember, but then again I haven't been to one in a long time. I don't recall seeing boxing matches, light shows or bikini models but I think they are a welcome addition. </p><p>Ostensibly this conference was focused on cloud computing and was even called the "Cloud Summit". However, in the vendor area, there were few real cloud computing specific peds. Most of the vendor displays were about hardware, system monitoring and security. </p><p>Ric Telford of IBM gave a keynote address and sspoke of IBM's cloud offerings. After the keynote, there was a flurry of visitors asking about IBM, Cloud Computing and IBM's cloud offerings. Most of the visitors were looking for education and we were happy to have the opportunity to talk about the company and cloud computing from IBM's perspective. </p><p>We had the CloudBurst Appliance with us and it drew some interest. The purple case definitely stood out and drew inquiries. Some excitement is being generated but I think now the industry and the market has to catch up to us. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>-- Scott Quint </i></p><br/><br/><br/><br/>Dustin and i manned the IBM booth at InterOp in Las Vegas last week. The conference was very different from the industry conferences I remember, but then again I haven't been to one in a long time. I don't recall seeing boxing matches, light shows or bikini...004595urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-203cd156-7537-4b84-9c9d-77278729c8c1A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers2013-12-06T05:09:12-05:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-a8333949-58ef-4937-8544-7934475a3c98CloudBurst gets it rightDKA0600026VJ2activefalseComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikestrue2009-05-15T14:57:24-04:002009-06-16T14:25:16-04:00<br/><br/><br/><br/><p>Cloud Computing is essentially a Systems Management innovation. I understand that, to some, that means simply managing hardware and capacity or computing power. However, it also involves deployment of enterprise level software. While some software is a kind of out-of-the-box asset that can be installed generically as if it were a hard asset, infrastructure software like WebSphere requires considerable skill and knowledge. </p><p>Tier1 cloud computing implementations must be able to expand the enterprise into provided capacity quickly and autonomically. If the scale-out requires tremendous effort and specialized skills then the cost savings that cloud offers is severely mitigated.</p><p>CloudBurst provides a mechanism to quickly deploy WebSphere environments to private clouds and allows the administrator to simply manage the assets on which WebSphere will run. The expertise of setting up and configuring WebSphere is, in effect, canned. This allows for much more rapid deployments and reduces the need for more expensive admins.</p><p>While many companies are still putting forward more technologically sophisticated offerings that still require even more technologically sophisticated staff, WebSphere has produced a product with a value which is more easily realized, understood and which can be seen on the balance sheet.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Scott Quint</p><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><p>Cloud Computing is essentially a Systems Management innovation. I understand that, to some, that means simply managing hardware and capacity or computing power. However, it also involves deployment of enterprise level software. While some software is a kind of out-of-the-box asset that can be installed generically as if it were a hard asset, infrastructure software like WebSphere requires considerable skill and knowledge. </p><p>Tier1 cloud computing implementations must be able to expand the enterprise into provided capacity quickly and autonomically. If the scale-out requires tremendous effort and specialized skills then the cost savings that cloud offers is severely mitigated.</p><p>CloudBurst provides a mechanism to quickly deploy WebSphere environments to private clouds and allows the administrator to simply manage the assets on which WebSphere will run. The expertise of setting up and configuring WebSphere is, in effect, canned. This allows for much more rapid deployments and reduces the need for more expensive admins.</p><p>While many companies are still putting forward more technologically sophisticated offerings that still require even more technologically sophisticated staff, WebSphere has produced a product with a value which is more easily realized, understood and which can be seen on the balance sheet.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;- Scott Quint</p><br/><br/><br/><br/>Cloud Computing is essentially a Systems Management innovation. I understand that, to some, that means simply managing hardware and capacity or computing power. However, it also involves deployment of enterprise level software. While some software is a kind of...004016urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-203cd156-7537-4b84-9c9d-77278729c8c1A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers2013-12-06T05:09:12-05:00urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-721da543-ab53-45c9-888b-6a7d2634b601Cloning, virtualization and Cloud computingDKA0600026VJ2activefalseComment Entriesapplication/atom+xml;type=entryLikestrue2009-04-16T15:06:43-04:002009-04-16T15:06:43-04:00<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can you have cloud computing without virtualization? I don't think so. Some have stated to me that they believe a cloud could b contrived without virtualization but I don't see it. Cloud computing is all about being able to expand or contract an enterprise on demand and as a service. Without deployable virtual images there is no mechanism for doing this efficiently.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I suppose that you could argue that clouds do not necessarily include the OS or the hardware and that you could scale by use of templates and configuration files to clone systems. That is cloning. Cloning, spawning,&nbsp; parallel processing and other mechanisms for creating capacity and processing power dont have the scope that a full cloud implementation has. Cloud computing is an administration paradigm that may share or even employ some or all of these other techniques but can include more.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I guess the biggest thing that sets cloud computing apart from cloining or spawning is that cloud computing is a paradigm for a flexible distributed computing platform. Cloning and spawing are techniques as is Virtualization.Clouds are entire managed infrastructures where virtulized systems are simply tools and cloning is a function of products. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Scott Quint</i></p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can you have cloud computing without virtualization? I don't think so. Some have stated to me that they believe a cloud could b contrived without virtualization but I don't see it. Cloud computing is all about being able to expand or contract an enterprise on demand and as a service. Without deployable virtual images there is no mechanism for doing this efficiently.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I suppose that you could argue that clouds do not necessarily include the OS or the hardware and that you could scale by use of templates and configuration files to clone systems. That is cloning. Cloning, spawning,&nbsp; parallel processing and other mechanisms for creating capacity and processing power dont have the scope that a full cloud implementation has. Cloud computing is an administration paradigm that may share or even employ some or all of these other techniques but can include more.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;I guess the biggest thing that sets cloud computing apart from cloining or spawning is that cloud computing is a paradigm for a flexible distributed computing platform. Cloning and spawing are techniques as is Virtualization.Clouds are entire managed infrastructures where virtulized systems are simply tools and cloning is a function of products. </p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>Scott Quint</i></p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Can you have cloud computing without virtualization? I don't think so. Some have stated to me that they believe a cloud could b contrived without virtualization but I don't see it. Cloud computing is all about being able to expand or contract...004596urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-203cd156-7537-4b84-9c9d-77278729c8c1A view from the clouds: Cloud computing for developers2013-12-06T05:09:12-05:00